Is there any Feehan Romance in which the hero and heroine don't feel an instant, even psychic attraction to each other?

I've only read two stories by Feehan: the novella After the Music and the novel Shadow Game. (I have Dark Prince in my TBR pile, though.) From the reviews of other books in the Game series, however, I've noticed a "life mates" pattern that I don't have a problem with on principle, but think would be really tiresome in a whole series of books.

I'd say the root of my problem is suspending disbelief when the hero and heroine go from complete strangers on Page 1, to close acquaintances on Page 20, and then maybe dream lovers (if not actual lovers) on Page 60, and finally a couple in a long-term relationship on Page 100--when the book has about 150 pages left to go before the official HEA. Until I started reading Feehan, I had no idea how important internal conflict was to me! _________________"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton)

Is there any Feehan Romance in which the hero and heroine don't feel an instant, even psychic attraction to each other?

I've only read two stories by Feehan: the novella After the Music and the novel Shadow Game. (I have Dark Prince in my TBR pile, though.) From the reviews of other books in the Game series, however, I've noticed a "life mates" pattern that I don't have a problem with on principle, but think would be really tiresome in a whole series of books.

I'd say the root of my problem is suspending disbelief when the hero and heroine go from complete strangers on Page 1, to close acquaintances on Page 20, and then maybe dream lovers (if not actual lovers) on Page 60, and finally a couple in a long-term relationship on Page 100--when the book has about 150 pages left to go before the official HEA. Until I started reading Feehan, I had no idea how important internal conflict was to me!

I've mainly read Christine's Carpathian series and I can tell you right now that ALL of them will feature the lifemate theme. It's a major premise of the Carpathians in general, each searching for their lifemate and struggling against the darkness until if and when they are lucky enough to do so. *G* I kind of like the idea myself but if this is something that annoys you it's not going to get any better! LOL

I mean, I don't mind one lead deciding early on that he or she wants to be with the other forever and ever (especially if it's the hero who commits early). It's just that I expect a little bit of reluctance from the other lead: you know, something to keep a bit of the internal conflict going while they battle whatever bad guys they need to deal with.

Is there any hope? _________________"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton)

I mean, I don't mind one lead deciding early on that he or she wants to be with the other forever and ever (especially if it's the hero who commits early). It's just that I expect a little bit of reluctance from the other lead: you know, something to keep a bit of the internal conflict going while they battle whatever bad guys they need to deal with.

Is there any hope?

I don't know about Christine Feehan, but I recall that you just started reading Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series - book 3 involves a Lykae looking for his mate, but there's a hint of ambiguity about exactly who his mate is (due to the use of magic and assorted trickery). VERY interesting stuff, something I hadn't come across before.

I mean, I don't mind one lead deciding early on that he or she wants to be with the other forever and ever (especially if it's the hero who commits early). It's just that I expect a little bit of reluctance from the other lead: you know, something to keep a bit of the internal conflict going while they battle whatever bad guys they need to deal with.

Is there any hope?

Yes, there's hope, but it's a case of being careful what you wish for. You'll hear more about "free will" from the ladies in question than you ever wanted to, at least in the early books. I haven't read anything from CF other than some of the Carpathian books, and in most of the books I've read (the first seven or eight), the hero is the one who recognizes the female as his lifemate (logical, given that he knows what a lifemate is and she doesn't), and the heroine fights it tooth and nail because it's a violation of her free will (lifemates are born, not chosen).

This is one of the reasons I haven't continued with the series (along with the tiny rib cages - that really bugs me for some reason). In fact, one of my favorites is a short story in which the heroine already has some inkling of what a lifemate is and doesn't mention "free will" even once, presumably due to shorter word count.

I don't know about Christine Feehan, but I recall that you just started reading Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series - book 3 involves a Lykae looking for his mate, but there's a hint of ambiguity about exactly who his mate is (due to the use of magic and assorted trickery). VERY interesting stuff, something I hadn't come across before.

That's an apt comparison, Retrograde. I haven't read Bowen and Mari's book yet, but I like the idea that even when something is as black-and-white as immortal life-mates, there are still complications that can ensue--such as one partner not recognising it at first and needing to be convinced (or even both partners in denial at the beginning).

The identity/ambiguity twist in Cole's Wicked Deeds sounds interesting--and I did suspect as much. I can't wait to read it! :D

melann wrote:

Yes, there's hope, but it's a case of being careful what you wish for. You'll hear more about "free will" from the ladies in question than you ever wanted to, at least in the early books.

Hmmmm. It sounds a bit promising. The heroine in Shadow Game does wonder whether her attraction to the hero is just an effect of being psychic and not really love. It's an important question, but I think that Feehan's way of dealing with it--getting the hero to offer the same verbal reassurances over and over--wasn't as satisfying as it could have been._________________"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton)

Nope. Here's a mild spoiler for the Game series - ignore it if you plan to read the lot:
The scientifically generated psychics were also engineered to be attracted/irresistible to a particular one of the women, part of the evil doctor's plan of creating a super race. After the third or fourth book, the couples become aware of this and deciding whether to fight the attraction becomes an issue -although it's pretty much a lost cause from the outset and it never reaches the level of internal conflict you're looking for.

To be fair, I haven't read the last two books in the series - they all started blurring together.

That's an apt comparison, Retrograde. I haven't read Bowen and Mari's book yet, but I like the idea that even when something is as black-and-white as immortal life-mates, there are still complications that can ensue--such as one partner not recognising it at first and needing to be convinced (or even both partners in denial at the beginning).

The identity/ambiguity twist in Cole's Wicked Deeds sounds interesting--and I did suspect as much. I can't wait to read it!

I'm so excited for you - I wish I could read it for the first time again! I've heard from a few people that this wasn't among their favourites of the series, but (along with A Hunger Like No Other) it definitely ranks as the best IMO.

Nope. Here's a mild spoiler for the Game series - ignore it if you plan to read the lot:
The scientifically generated psychics were also engineered to be attracted/irresistible to a particular one of the women, part of the evil doctor's plan of creating a super race. After the third or fourth book, the couples become aware of this and deciding whether to fight the attraction becomes an issue -although it's pretty much a lost cause from the outset and it never reaches the level of internal conflict you're looking for.

To be fair, I haven't read the last two books in the series - they all started blurring together.

Arrrrrrggghhh!

Well, I was considering getting as far as Gator's story (the third book, I believe) because I thought he was kind of fun in the first book . . . but I think I'll read the first Carpathians book first before I decide whether to invest in another Shadow Walkers novel. That will make it my third Feehan Romance; and if it's more of the same, I think I'll give up.

On another note:

Something else that bothers me is all the public displays of affection. In After the Music, the hero and heroine kissed very heavily in front of their friends and his children--and surprisingly, the children didn't seem to mind. In Shadow Game, the hero's friends enter the bedroom while the hero and heroine are still naked under the sheets, and it's somehow all right because they're all like family already.

I find my eyebrows going up a lot during such scenes. Does anyone else agree?

Or perhaps disagree? _________________"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton)

The Game series is the only one of hers I can stand. While the Carpathian idea itself is interesting, it's poorly realized and not really developed at all, just repeating itself over and over. At least there are character differences and actual plots in the Game series._________________Reality has a well-known liberal bias.

I had to give up on the Carpathians for the repetiveness as well. I did read three Game ones and while I did like them better then the Carpathians, I haven't felt compelled to read the rest. What I really do like is the Witches series. There is magic used and the women definitely have their own free will. I didn't think I would like these since I wasn't into her other series but the first sister's story was in an anthology and I really liked it.

I had to give up on the Carpathians for the repetiveness as well. I did read three Game ones and while I did like them better then the Carpathians, I haven't felt compelled to read the rest. What I really do like is the Witches series. There is magic used and the women definitely have their own free will. I didn't think I would like these since I wasn't into her other series but the first sister's story was in an anthology and I really liked it.

I enjoyed the first Drake Sisters story, too, and followed the series because I was waiting for Hannah and Jonas - they were so obviously nuts about one another and terrified of letting the other one know in the first couple of books. But by the time she got to their story, the characters and backstory had morphed completely and it wasn't what I'd been waiting for at all.

The Game series is the only one of hers I can stand. While the Carpathian idea itself is interesting, it's poorly realized and not really developed at all, just repeating itself over and over. At least there are character differences and actual plots in the Game series.

Oh, crud! What you say about the Carpathians is already the impression I got from the Games series! Oh, well . . .

_________________"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton)